New regulations for OP services soon in Jipmer

Jipmer has announced regulations to outpatient department (OPD) visits and initiation of teleconsultation services to reduce transmission risks in view of the recent spike in COVID-19 cases over the last couple of weeks in Puducherry.

Jipmer Director Rakesh Aggarwal said in a press note that the number of COVID-19 patients in Puducherry has rapidly increased in the last three weeks, resulting in an increase in positive patients being admitted to the hospital.

To reduce the risk of transmission of the virus to those going to OPD for consultation, it has been decided to commence teleconsultation services from Tuesday and to limit the number of in-person OP consultations to 50 patients in each department from Wednesday.

Jipmer has asked patients seeking consultation from any specialty at the hospital to register by calling the designated number as provided on the Jimper website (www.jipmer.edu.in) to book an appointment for teleconsultation.

From Wednesday, in-person OP consultations for elective patients will be based only on prior appointments issued by each department. Further, to reduce the risk of transmission of the virus in the community, as well as within the hospital, Jipmer will continue to carefully regulate the OPD services. This includes the use of measures such as universal masks for all patients and attenders, visits by prior appointment and teleconsultation before physical visits and setting a limit of only one attender per patient.

These are important to ensure proper physical distancing between people attending the outpatient services. Patients and their attendants are also encouraged to get fully vaccinated against COVID-19 at the earliest, if not vaccinated already, since it gives protection against the Omicron variant of the virus as well.

However, all emergency medical and surgical services will continue as usual, Jimper said.

Meanwhile, Lieutenant Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan has, during a call with the Jimper Director, asked him to ensure that inconvenience is minimised to patients as a result of the restrictions.